Feeling compassion and responsible but not starting a social venture: role of empathy and moral obligation in social entrepreneurial intention

Purpose While compassionate and morally motivated people are theorised to be more likely to engage in activities that contribute to the social good, the literature provides contradictory evidence regarding the role of empathy and moral obligation in building social entrepreneurial intention (SEI). This study aims to clarify how empathy and moral obligation influence SEI. Design/methodology/approach The authors used survey data ( n = 307) from Bangladesh, a frontier economy, to test the hypothesised relationships between empathy, moral obligation and SEI by applying partial least square–structural equation modelling in Smart PLS 3. They then conducted a second study with a larger sample ( n = 339) from Saudi Arabia, an emerging economy, to further investigate how the findings withstand in a…